Notifications are often received from volunteers reporting an incident or situation requiring an emergency response; for example, when a traffic accident occurs on the highway in the United States or Canada, it is common for drivers witnessing the accident to call the nationally recognized “911” emergency telephone number to report it. However, lack of coordination can result in redundant notifications being received from multiple witnesses, leading to communication system congestion and possible confusion on the part of emergency response workers receiving the accident report(s). A recent news report in Toronto detailed an example where a three (3) minute wait time developed for the emergency “911” call center because of a traffic accident where twenty-six (26) witnesses placed cellular telephone calls to report the crash. The call center had thirteen (13) emergency operators on duty.
A caller normally dials “911” (or another accident reporting number) to report an emergency using current telecommunications technology/infrastructure and incident reporting procedures, whereupon the receiving operator determines whether the nature of the emergency is “public” or “private”. Examples of “private emergencies” include a person having a heart attack or stroke (or other medical symptoms) that are not likely to be observed by multiple individuals. In such a case, the incident is handled using current emergency response procedures, with the receiving “911” call center dispatching the appropriate agenc(ies) and/or personnel (police, fire department, ambulance, etc.) to attend to the situation. Examples of “public emergencies” include a car accident on a highway or a fire, since these are likely to be seen (and reported) by multiple people. However, if all individuals capable of reporting the same “public emergency” dial “911”, it will redundantly consume call center resources and may lead to failure of the emergency communication system due to congestion overload. Current emergency reporting regulations in the US require the ability to determine the location of the calling party when an emergency (“911”) call is received. The location of the call is then associated with the emergency record created to report the problem. The invention uses this call location information to prevent emergency communication system notification congestion.